here we snow again

After watching three inches of snow fall from the sky on Easter while living in Michigan last April, we thought we'd be getting away from that insanity down here this spring. Take the fact that Easter is so early this year, and the fact that St Louis weather is apparently as crazy as good ol' Michigan's, and what do we have? Snow on Easter again. It's pretty much been snowing all day today. Nice big fluffy wet flakes sticking on the grass and on our deck. Very pretty-- but it's Easter!! Where is the sunshine and the flowers and the birds chirping and the little girls in their sleeveless Easter dresses? I'll tell you what my little girl's doing... putting long sleeves under and sweaters over with thick tights and a coat as well. This had better be our last dose of this stuff...




So just call me Suck E. Mom when it comes to holiday stuff captured on film this Easter. We died our Easter eggs last night. Didn't even think to pick up my camera. Wonderful Easter dinner at the Swinigan's today, complete with a backyard egg hunt and kids decorating their own Happy Birthday Norah cupcakes, and did I remember to bring my camera? Nope.
I did get a few pics this morning when the kids got up to follow the trail of jellybeans the Easter Bunny left from their bedroom doors to their baskets. Super cheesey snap-shotty ones, but at least I got some!

We keep the Easter Baskets pretty minimal around here. I got small ones on purpose! It's sometimes a challenge for me to find little gifts that fit in them, but it's more fun that way. This year we did a game, some playdough, some stamps and stickers and some bunny marshmallows in the eggs along with the standard Peeps and jellybeans.














I went a different way with the baskets this year... we grew up with a chocolate bunny in our basket every year and that's what I've done around here the last few years. But I know some grew up with the sugar eggs as the highlight of the basket rather than the chocolate bunny and I came across these that were absolutely made for my kids, so I just had to buy them;










Sawyer's egg has a froggy in it (his special "lovey" blanket he's attached to is a frog) and Savannah's had a lamb (and we all know how attached SJ is to her Lammie!). So we switched it up this year and the kids thought they were pretty cool. They don't really care for chocolate anyway.

And then I coerced everyone into a family portrait attempt once we were home this afternoon. Got nothin' great out of it, but at least it was something. I haven't even played around with them much to see if I can make something come out a little better than first glance, but here's a couple of them.
First the kids goofing around being my test shots...





















And then all of us... these two are the best I have to choose from with me running back and forth from the camera (I miss having a remote!), Sawyer having to be held (and only by MOMMY) because he was NOT being cooperative in standing with us, Savannah making obnoxious faces or hand motions, and Ryan looking oh so happy to be in front of the camera with us instead of watching the basketball games...

Hope you all had a Blessed Easter!